Three “School Moms” Busted in Ponzi Scheme

Two women were arrested Tuesday in their Diamond Bar homes on suspicion of operating a scheme that defrauded a number of people out of an estimated $1.5 million, wiping out their life savings.
  
Three suspects -- one was convicted earlier -- gained the friendship and trust of more than 40 investors during organized school events and social events among parents of students at Armstrong Elementary School in Diamond Bar, according to Capt. Mike Parker of the Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau.
  
The majority of the transactions took place in one of the suspects homes between 2008 and 2010, Parker said.
 
Arrested Tuesday were Maricela Barajas, also known as Maricela Torres, 41, and Juliana Menefee, 50. Barajas was taken into custody at her home on Hopi Street and Menefee was arrested at her home on Beaverhead Drive.
 
The arrests followed a six-month fraud investigation by detectives from the sheriff's Commercial Crimes Bureau.
 
A third suspect, Eva Perez, 51, was convicted in the case and is serving an 11-year sentence in the Central California Women's Facility. She was also ordered to pay restitution.
  
The victims who were ensnared in the scheme lived in Chino, Diamond Bar, Gardena, Granada Hills, Lawndale, Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Norwalk, Pacoima, Pico Rivera, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Redondo Beach, Riverside, San Bernardino, South Gate, Santa Fe Springs, Torrance, Whittier, Wilmington and Salt Lake City, Parker said.
 
Mostly they were hard-working people who mortgaged their homes to participate in what they thought was a legitimate business, Parker said.
  
The suspects claimed to have exclusive rights to sell AltaDena Dairy products at Disneyland, Walt Disney Co. hotels and other retailers. They promised return rates of up to 100 percent.
 
Parker estimated that the Perez and the two women arrested Tuesday collected about $14 million, and returned $10 million in supposed profits in order to keep the Ponzi scheme going.